Formal emails and letters

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Guess the words (1)Vocabulary exercise
4. 4Guess the words (2)Vocabulary exercise
5. 5Check the wordsVocabulary
6. 6Formal writing today
7. 7Useful phrasesVocabulary
8. 8Reading: Ayumi's letterReading
9. 9Check your understandingReading comprehension
10. 10Listen: Ayumi on toneListening comprehension
11. 11Use the new wordsVocabulary exercise
12. 12What does it mean?Grammar exercise
13. 13Find the polite requestsGrammar exercise
14. 14Polite requests and formal wordsGrammar rule
15. 15Choose the right formGrammar exercise
16. 16Fix the formal sentencesGrammar exercise
17. 17Say it naturallySpeaking practice
18. 18Formal or not?Speaking practice
19. 19Let's discussDiscussion
20. 20Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: closest meaningVocabulary exercise
2. 2Homework: your sentencesVocabulary exercise
3. 3Homework: make it formalGrammar exercise
4. 4Homework: a formal email or letterDiscussion

Words

• on behalf of/ɑːn bɪˈhæf əv/

  for someone, or as their representative (on behalf of the team, on my behalf)

• inquiry/ˈɪŋkwəri/

  a question or a request for information, often from a customer (inquire: the verb)

• resignation/ˌrezɪɡˈneɪʃn/

  telling your employer that you are leaving your job (a letter of resignation)

• reference/ˈrefrəns/

  a letter or a call from someone who knows your work, saying how good you are at your job (also: that person)

• letterhead/ˈletərhed/

  a company's name, address and logo at the top of its letters (also: paper or a template with this on it)

• look into/ˈlʊk ɪntuː/

  to try to find out the facts about a problem

• concise/kənˈsaɪs/

  short and clear, with no words that you don't need

• at your earliest convenience/ət jər ˌɜːrliəst kənˈviːniəns/

  as soon as you can (formal)

• dissatisfied/dɪsˈsætɪsfaɪd/

  not happy with something, because it is not as good as you expected

• tone/toʊn/

  the feeling or attitude that a piece of writing or speech shows (a formal tone, an angry tone)

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

Let's talk about formal writing.

1. When did you last write something formal at work? Who was it for?
2. Have you ever complained to a company in writing? Did it help?
3. Does your company still send paper letters? What kind?

Grammar rule

Polite requests and formal words

Polite requests, from neutral to very formal

Phrase	What comes next	Example
Could you …?	the base form	Could you check the address?
Could you possibly …?	the base form	Could you possibly change the time?
Would you mind …?	-ing	Would you mind waiting a few minutes?
I was wondering if you could …	the base form	I was wondering if you could lend us a projector.
I would be grateful if you could …	the base form	I would be grateful if you could forward this to your team.
I would appreciate it if you could …	the base form	I would appreciate it if you could keep this private.

Longer phrases sound more formal and more careful. Use them with people you don't know well, with clients, in formal letters and for bigger requests. With a colleague you know well, Could you…? is enough. In less formal emails, I'd be grateful… and I'd appreciate it… are fine.

Would you mind…? asks "Is it a problem for you?", so the friendly answer is No, not at all. or Of course not. (Many Americans also just say Sure.) I was wondering if… and I would be grateful if… are not questions, so they end with a period.

Formal and neutral words

Neutral	Formal
get	receive
ask for	request
tell	inform
help	assist
buy	purchase
need	require
give	provide
about	regarding

Keep the it: I would appreciate it if…, not I would appreciate if…. After Would you mind, use -ing, not to + verb. inform needs a person: inform someone that…, inform someone of a change. As a verb, request has no for: request a refund (but the noun has it: a request for a refund).